China’s Sichuan Airlines to Launch Flights to Israel With Direct Tel Aviv-Chengdu Route

Chinese air carrier Sichuan Airlines Co. Ltd. officially announced Tuesday the launch of a new direct route connecting Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province in Southwest China, with Tel Aviv. Sichuan Airlines’ first route to Israel, which will begin operating on September 26, will include two weekly flights on Sundays and Wednesdays, each with 277 seats in coach and 24 seats in business.

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The duration of the flight from Chengdu to Tel Aviv will be eight hours and twenty minutes. Intentions to launch the route were first announced in March as Sichuan Airlines applied for permits to operate it.

Earlier this month, Hainan Airlines Holding Co Ltd., China’s fourth-largest airline company, started operating a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Guangzhou, the capital of China’s southern Guangdong province. Hainan Airlines also operates direct routes connecting Tel Aviv with Shanghai and Beijing.

According to data released in August by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, 114,000 tourists entered Israel from China in 2017, a 41% increase from 2016.